58 Hours

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was able to spend the weekend getting away from my husband and 3 children and spending it with my mom, my aunt (mom’s sister) and cousin.  The 4 of us started this getaway last year as a way to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday.  We had so much fun we decided it needed to be an annual event.  So, as my mom’s birthday came around this year, up north we went.  We meet in Minneapolis because it is about halfway for each of us to get there.  I leave Friday morning, head north and pick up my mom, and arrive early afternoon at the hotel.  This year, first on the list of things to-do was a foot massage from RELAXING MASSAGE at the Mall of America.  Then, of course, we had to do some shopping!  We headed out for a yummy supper at a Mongolion grill.  Then it was back to the hotel for a mean game of Scrabble!  This is one of our favorite things to do together!   Saturday morning we headed out to the Como Zoo Conservatory in St. Paul.  My mom had heard about their gardens.  Each season they have a garden specific to that season.  We caught the last week of the winter garden.  The scent of the flowers when we opened the door to enter the garden was just amazing.  I can’t describe it in words, but the freesia and the stargazer lilies just filled us with their aroma!  Enjoy the photos of the winter garden.

My mom, me, my cousin Melanie, and my aunt Susie.

The rest of the day was spent eating fabulous gourmet pizza, delicious ice cream, and numerous games of Bananagrams!  We spent the evening in downtown Minneapolis.  Unfortunately the weekend had to end, and after sleeping in a little bit on Sunday and a quick trip to the Mall of America we all headed back to our homes.  The best part of being away for 3 days is arriving home to the best hugs from your kids.  So after 58 hours of fun and laughter, I am feeling refreshed and ready to tackle a new week, a new season, and very soon, a hectic schedule of soccer, flag football, dance, and gardening.